What you learn during your postdoc could continue to shape your career even years later. Fatuel Tecuapetla, tenured researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), still incorporates valuable career and life lessons he discovered through his two postdocs abroad. Here, he reflects on how he made the decision to do a second postdoc, ways he grew as a scientist, and advice for young researchers.
How did you approach your postdoctoral training?
During my PhD at UNAM, I asked my advisers, "What do I need to do to have a position here one day?”
To be competitive, they said I’d need good quality publications and the ability to bring something different to Mexico — a technique nobody else was doing, for example.
I made a plan and focused on it. There were certain techniques I wanted to learn, so I tried to find labs that would help me.
I then did two postdocs. One was at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, and the other was at the Champalimaud Neuroscience Program in Lisbon, Portugal.
The postdoc in Portugal had the biggest impact on my career. I ended up moving there for four years and learned techniques while collaborating with incredible people. By the time I was finishing my postdoc in Portugal, I was waiting for an open position at UNAM.
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